Glass-Walled House Placed in the Rocky Landscape of Norway

Lille Arøya is a residential project completed by Lund Hagem. The 8,084-square-foot home is located in Larvik, Norway.
“The clients; an interior architect, an artist and their one child (now two kids) came to Lund Hagem to renew their holiday home with the aim to create a more sheltered place responding to their desires and the place. The site is located within 5 meters (16 feet) of the waters edge on a small island with large topographic differences. The site is exposed to prevailing winds from south –west, and as with so many sites along the Norwegian coast, it boasts a magnificent view. Access is limited to a boat. As a direct response to the location, the new house is located “next to” the island, occupying a little rock area that had no useful qualities apart from gathering up debris from surrounding areas. The building creates a site on stilts that latches onto the island to unite the new with the old. The new surface is then occupied with two volumes, one little volume housing bedrooms and bathrooms, and one taller roof spanning across to create a shelter for the kitchen, dining and living. Floor levels undulate and respond to the joining rock, and all circulation is outdoors. The new volumes sit naturally with the existing landscape and allow for free flow and use of surround areas. The building seeks to enhance the qualities of the site and make use of sectors that originally had no value. The exterior and interior walls are all clad in rough-sawn ore pine, the same pine as used on the shuttering for the fireplace/bathroom. The exterior walls are divided into two categories, the interior/exterior walls consisting of narrow horizontal boarding and the exterior/exterior walls composed of vertical wide (3xthe parallel) boards. These wide boards, as well as the roof, are painted soot black to reduce the impact of the building seen from the surrounding as well as create a contrast to the naturally colored walls along the facades towards the terrace and walkways. In contrast to the walls, the floors are smooth ore pine.”